Disco de Spoon: “Series of Sneaks”

I have to say, as a fan of Spoon this review will inevitably be rather biased, but I'll do my best to critique it.

This albums bad points are that really it sounds like a collections of singles or at least some EP's slammed together. It lacks the flow of "Kill The Moonlight" or "Girls Can Tell". As well "Staring At The Board" sounds like it was written and recored after one to many drinks in the afternoon, a jokey almost throw away track.

But the good points, well the rest of the album is the good point. The punk bluster of "Junes Foreign Spell" puts the so called punk bands like Rancid and co. at Epitaph to shame with its venom. "Metal Detektor" is laid back and bluesy. "No You're Not"'s only fault is that its over so soon, as is the problem with the woozy "Chloform". Yet the songs maintain an intimacy with listen, like they we're there with you in the same room, such a rare quality that today's over produnced bands, even the so called alt bands sorely lack.

Its not their best effort, but just about all Spoon do is gold, and this is an indie classic.

On November 6th, 2002, I heard a band called Spoon for the very first time on Late Night with Conan O'Brien. They performed The Way We Get By, and from that day forward I was hooked. Then, for a while, I fell out of love with Spoon, stopped listening to their music (to that point, the only album of theirs I had heard was Kill The Moonlight), until, out of curiosity, I decided to get my hands on some of their older stuff. And now, the cycle has begun again. There's something about the band that I adore; perhaps it's the lyrics, or maybe it's the voice of Britt Daniel. Somehow, Spoon has become my favorite band...again. From the superb guitar and wicked bass in Quincy Punk Episode to the drums of Metal Detektor, this band rocks. This album just serves as a testament to that.

I never thought I'd say that about any band, to be perfectly honest. Spoon is in a genre all by itself; it's beyond rock but hardly heavy. The other thing I like about Spoon that is a characteristic that is rare nowadays is that their songs only seem to get better the more you listen to them; every day, I have a new favorite Spoon song, because one I was listening to for a while suddenly sounds better than it ever has.

I mean, come on. How can you possibly beat these lyrics (from Quincy Punk Episode): "molly said she ought to leave you/ ought to leave you/ ought to leave you/ molly said she ought to leave you/ in the ground/ when they see you hanging down from on the ceiling/ I've got a feeling/ that there's no one / if you could speak/ would believe you". Spoon makes it work.

The truth is, Spoon epitomizes everything I've always liked about music; lyrics, attitude, pianos, and vocals, melded into one beautiful work of art called a song.

If I had to make a complaint, I'd say it has to do with the length the album; it's simply too short. Other than that, these guys, and this album, are perfect.

I have to say, I have never been able to pick a favorite album before I bought this CD (even when I was obsessed with Radiohead I was still unable to claim OK Computer as my favorite), but after I bought it, and listened to it for the third time, I made the decision that this is my favorite album, ever (at least until I buy another Spoon album), and it was the easiest decision I've ever made. For the readers of this review, I am sorry to explain that I can't say exactly why. The first two times I listened to it, it was nice and catchy, but never more than good, and thats because I was expecting some sort of genius from it. And that's not to say it isn't genius, because it is. The genius is in the simplicity and it took my third listen to realize that. They are MANY different sounds here that you wont notice the first few times, but everything is used to perfect effect. The material here may not be the best (though it's damn good), but the execution is hands down, the best I have EVER heard. Perfect lo-fi production. Perfect CD.

I saw this band at the Bug Jar in Rochester, NY. They ROCKED. Playing as a 3 piece, they made a smallish sound system sound great. The album is fantastic. Most impressive is the songwriting. Excellent songs. Interesting melodies and the accoustic (yes, that's an accoustic) guitar sounds pore, raw, & LOUD! Get this CD.

top notch. what else can you say. spoon is at once the future and past of music.

okay?